Biscayne National Park

Biscayne National Park has the simple beauty of a child’s drawing. Clear blue water. Bright yellow sun, Big sky. Dark green woodlands. Here and there a boat, a bird, some mangrove trees. It is a subtropical place where a mainland mangrove forests shoreline, a warm shallow bay, small islands or keys, and living coral reefs intermingle. Together they make up a vast, almost pristine wilderness and recreation area along the southeast edge of the Florida peninsula. The park, located 21 miles east of Everglades National Park, was established as a national monument in 1968. In 1980 it was enlarged to 173,000 acres and designated as a national park to protect a rare combination of terrestrial and undersea life, to preserve a scenic subtropical setting, and to provide an outstanding spot for recreation and relaxation.

In most parks land dominates the picture. But Biscayne is not like most parks. Here water and sky overwhelm the scene in every direction, leaving the bits of low-lying land looking remote and insignificant. This is paradise for marine life, water birds, boaters, anglers, snorkelers, and divers alike. The water is refreshingly clean, extraordinarily clear. Only the maintenance of the natural interplay between the mainland, Key Biscayne Bay, keys, reefs, and the Florida Straits keeps it that way. The Caribbean-like climate saturates the park with year-round warmth, generous sunshine, and abundant rainfall. Tropical life thrives. The land is filled to overflowing with an unusual collection of trees, ferns, vines, flowers, and shrubs. Mangrove forests are lush, dark, humid, evergreen; many birds, butterflies, and other animals live in these woods.

No less odd or diverse is Biscayne’s underwater world. At its center are the coral reefs. Unlike the ocean depths, which are dark and nearly lifeless, the shallow water reefs are inundated with light and burgeoning with life. Brilliantly colorful tropical fish and other curious creatures populate the reefs. Their appearances and behavior are as exotic as their names – stoplight parrot-fish, finger garlic sponge, goosehead scorpionfish, princess venus, peppermint goby. A reef explorer can spend hours drifting lazily in the waters above the reefs and watch a passing procession of some of the sea’s most fascinating inhabitants.

Whether on the reefs, the keys, the bay, or the mainland, you leave behind what is familiar and become acquainted with another world that is strange and wild. Key Biscayne is a different sort of national park. Expect the unexpected.

The Mainland: Mangrove Forests and Mangrove Swamps

In Biscayne the mainland mangrove shoreline has been preserved almost unbroken. For many years these trees of tropical and subtropical coasts were considered almost worthless. Some were cut for timber or used to make charcoal. As recently as the 1960s the mangrove wilderness was referred to as "a form of wasteland." Like thousands of other wetlands, it was cleared or filled to make way for harbors and expanding cities.

Now we understand that the mangroves are vital to the well-being of the park and surrounding areas. Without them, there would be fewer fish for anglers and fewer birds for birdwatchers. Biscayne Bay would become murky. Areas inland would be exposed to the full violence of hurricanes.

Beyond the Darkness in Key Biscayne

It is hard to see what lives in the brackish waters of the mangrove swamps because this water is stained brown by tannins from the trees. Hidden among the maze of roots is a productive nursery for all sorts of commercial, sport, and reef fish. Here the young find shelter and food. Fallen mangrove leaves feed bacteria and other microorganisms, and so begins a food web that supports not only underwater life but also birds that next and roost in the tree tops.

Mangrove Trees: Defending the Coast

The mangrove forest appears as a nearly impenetrable fortress. Perhaps a snake or mosquito can move through easily, but little else can. It makes an effective buffer between the mainland and Biscayne Bay.

Mangroves guard the bay from being dirtied by eroded soil and pollutants washing from the land by trapping them in its tangle of roots. The trees also stand as a natural line of defense against the strong wind and waves of hurricanes.

Mangroves: Freaks of Nature

Mangroves have been called freaks, and a close look reveals why. Roots of the red mangrove arch stilt-like out of the water or grow down into the water from overhead branches. The roots of the black mangrove look like hundreds of cigars planted in the mud – they are the breathing organs necessary for survival in this waterlogged environment.